


All That Matters

by MelodicLiterature



Category: Free!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Implied Relationships, Implied Slash, M/M, Makoto centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 16:23:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1434967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodicLiterature/pseuds/MelodicLiterature
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto Tachibana had noticed something was off with his best friend the moment the announcement date for the next Iwatobi Cherry Blossom Matsuri, a festival that the Tachibana — plus Haru — attended every year once the blossoms were in bloom; the fact that it was always held in the more town part of Iwatobi and not the city area made it even more special to the family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All That Matters

**Author's Note:**

> A request from tumblr: Makoto-centric; implied Haru/Nagisa.  
> Hope you enjoy, Anon!

Something was wrong with Haru. Makoto Tachibana had noticed something was off with his best friend the moment the announcement date for the next Iwatobi Cherry Blossom Matsuri, a festival that the Tachibana — plus Haru — attended every year once the blossoms were in bloom; the fact that it was always held in the more town part of Iwatobi and not the city area made it even more special to the family. It was something that would make Makoto noticeably more cheerful and even Haru would have a bit of a smile, but instead of the normal response Haruka seemed to have just tensed completely and refused to answer when Makoto asked if Haru was alright. The raven haired swimmer brushed Makoto off and quickly changed the subject to water, Makoto's newly bloomed romance with Chigusa, who decided to go with her family to the festival, or something equal as unrelated, such as:

 

 

_”Hey Haru, aren't you excited for the festival? “_

_”I wonder if the mackerel is a bit cheaper this, time. The catch wasn’t all that great.”_

 

_“I wonder if you’ll need Yukata, or are you not dressing with us this year.”_

_“Where’s Ren and Ran?”_

 

_“Haru, are you avoiding conversation with me about the Matsuri?”_

_“……..”_

 

 

It was either silence or a diversion with the other and it was driving Makoto insane. They were best friends, if anything was bothering Haruka then Makoto would know, because they tell each other everything, right? So there shouldn't be any issues in why Haruka can’t just tell him the truth…. Unless Haruka doesn’t want to go and disappoint the other and his family… Or maybe it was because he didn't want to go with them. There was the possibility that Haru is tired that he’s always being dragged by the Tachibana family to events and outings, and this was Haruka’s way of telling him that he was tired of them— ’No,’ Makoto was quickly to shake that thought as quickly as it came — It wasn't a scenario he liked reflecting on in the first place. Something must have come up and Haru probably can’t go, that’s why he was avoiding it! Yes that must be it; after all it was the only logical answer…. Well, it was until he had spotted Haruka and his mother — It was a rare occasion to see Ms. Nanase out; when the poor woman wasn't working her tail off, she was sleeping — glancing for a male’s Yukata. One presumably in Haruka’s size, meaning the other was going to this festival, but the question still remained:

_Why wasn’t Haruka going with him?_

Now Makoto prided himself on being a patient person; he didn't like prying all that much, despite Haruka’s busy body claims, and respected when someone wanted their space and time to think or keep to themselves… But if Haruka Nanase didn’t start speaking to him in the next few seconds, Makoto was going to blow a fuse. The day the Tachibanas were going to visit the festival was today and Haruka had stayed home from class, leaving it just Nagisa, Rei, Rin and him at their usual lunch spot; Everyone seemed unfazed but Makoto just knew Haruka was avoiding him and it was all he could think about; his hearing tuned out Nagisa’s, unusually perky even for him, ramblings about his excitement for the festival — it sounded as if the blonde had a date — and even Rin’s cocky speech on how he’ll win Kou any stuffed animals before Mikoshiba does.

By the time Rei had begun speaking; Makoto was in his own little foggy world. What was he going to do about Haru? By the time the fog cleared, Makoto had found himself re-dressed and walking with his family around the festival; he blinked, once realizing just how out of it he was, before sighing to himself slightly. Maybe he should just relax and let Haruka have a day to himself; after all they don’t really have to be attached to the hip, though that’s how they've lived for nearly all their lives. So for now, it was best if Makoto just relaxed and spend time with his family, and quite frankly some dango sounded like a great way to start that process. He excused himself for a moment, listening to his sister’s cries of ‘Get me one too!’, and make his way over to the line at the stand. His eyes glancing over at the people passing by, only for his eyes to widen at a familiar side profile that had passed by.

“Haru?” He muttered, setting out of the line and moving the get a closer look; there was no doubt about it being his best friend’s face, but still what was he doing here? The brunette maneuvered his way through the crowd to get a better look, only to stop in his tracks the moment he saw a short giggling male blonde, clutching onto Haruka’s arm, hugging a stuffed penguin to his chest. Makoto cooed for a moment at the sight; Haruka was probably shy about telling him he asked Nagisa on a date! Makoto opened his mouth, before quickly shutting it; he wanted to tell Haru it was okay, he understood the other’s mentality, and he doesn't have to keep anything from him again… His eyes glanced over at the two again, before turning back towards the dango line. Haruka deserves to keep a few things to himself. After Makoto has a secret of his own he won’t tell the other: How many dango’s he will eat all by himself! The brunette chuckled at the thought, and his fussing mother, stepping back into line.

At least he and Haruka were still best friends, and that’s all Makoto could ask for.


End file.
